Turkey has experienced high growth rates and extensive economic restructuring over the last 10 years. Gross National Product has grown at a pace of around 5.3% per annum. Although the value of agricultural output has grown tremendously in real terms, the share of agriculture in GNP has steadily declined indicating the structural nature of the change that has been taking place. Instead, the share of industrial production and services has been climbing steadily. The increase was most noticeable in the manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing sector has sustained an annual average growth rate of 7% since 1965 and it accounted for 70.6% of total physical production in 1994. Textiles and clothing are certainly the predominant manufacturing activities, but food and agro industry, chemicals and plastics, glass, iron and steel, motor vehicles and parts, electrical and non-electrical machinery, electronics, furniture and consumer durables are also well established sectors.

Among the manufacturing industry production in 1994, consumer goods constitute the major production group with 31.5%. The share of consumer goods in total exports accounts for 54.2%. Intermediary goods constitute the second major group with a share of 28.1% in total manufacturing industry production. Exports of intermediary goods account for 26.4% of total exports.

Major export products of the manufacturing industry are textiles and clothing, iron and steel, food industry products, electrical machinery and equipment, leather products and chemical products. Exports of the manufacturing industry account for 87% of total industrial exports of Turkey.

It is expected that the prosperity in the manufacturing industry which has accelerated in 1994, will continue and the dominance of the intermediary goods industry and the consumer goods industry in production will continue.